Resilient hinge mounting



y 13, 1954 R. F. TlMKEN ET AL RESILIENT HINGE MOUNTING Filed Sept. 25,1952 INVENTORS RICHARD F. T/MKEN PENCER JONES AT TORNE'YS 5 m In )3 0 J.m i

Patented July 13, 1954 BESILIEN'E HINGE MOUNTING Richard F. Timken andSpencer Jones, Palo Alto, Calif.

Application September 25, 1952, Serial No. 311,474

9 Claims.

ihis invention relates to a new and improved resilient hinge mountingsuch as may be em.- ployed to hingedly support sewing machines or likemechanisms.

The particular embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings,and which will be described hereinafter in greater detail, comprises,generally, a shock absorbing cushion formed of resilient materialdefining top, bottom, and side surfaces, and a hinge mechanismcomprising first and second hinge leaves pivotally connected to oneanother by a hinge pin. The first hinge leaf comprises a relatively flatplate which is preferably adhesively mounted on the cushion parallel to,and adjacent the top surface of, said cushion. The novel arrangement andconstruction of the parts, to be described hereinafter in more detail,

is such that the weight of the object, Such as a sewing machine,supported by the hinge mechanism is equally distributed to the areas oithe cushion located on opposite sides of the hinge pin, thereby insuringmaximum shock absorbing efficiency of the resilient cushion material.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a resilientshock absorbent hinge mounting particularly adapted for supportingsewing machines or like mechanisms to a primary support such as a tableor stand, and in such manner as to absorb a substantial quantity ofmachine vibration without permitting its trans.-

mittal to said primary support.

Another object and advantage of the invention is to provide a resilienthinge mounting of the character briefly mentioned above which willpermit the sewing machine or other object supported thereby to be swungdownwardly below the table parts in each of the several views.

In the drawings:

Fig.1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the hingemounting.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 44 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view showing how he hin e mounting, maybe empl e o upport a w n machine a down ou f a p sition.

Fig. 7 is the same as Fig. 6 showing the sewm machine supported ab ve hetable surface.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary plan View of a sewing machine supported to atable by a pair of hinge mountings constructed in accordance with theinvention.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the resilient hingemounting therein disclosed comprises, generally, a shock absorbingcushion A, a hinge mechanism B, and an anchor.- ihg plate C. Forpurposes of convenient illustrae tion and explanation, the side of themounting designated generally at D may be considered as the front sideof the mounting and the side designated generally at E as the back orrear portion of the mounting.

The shock absorbing cushion, heretofore designated generally at A,comprises, more specifically, a block of resilient Shock absorbingmaterial such as rubber, which, in the embodiment shown, substantiallycircular in cross-section and generally truncated-conical shape in sideelevation, definin parallel top and bottom surfaces I and (2,respectively, and side surfaces E3. The bottom perimeter of the block isshown as being slightly larger than the top perimeter of the blocktofacilitate its insertion within a circular cut-out formed in a primarySupport such as a table surface from the underside thereof, as explainedmore fully hereinafter.

A c rcular rec s or W ll. nd e at 14', i formed in the top of t e lo kconc n r c l y wit the op cir umferen of the block, a d s shaped andpropor i ned to s u ly ac mmodat in e leaf is of the hing mechanism, h oor desisnated generally at B.

Hinge leaf L6, in turn, comprises a relatively fiat circular plateformed with an elongate slot 11 extending from the outer edge of theplate inwardly toward and substantially beyond the cen- .ter point ofsaid plate. Plate 16 is preferably adhesively cemented or vulcanized, asat it, to-the cushioning material within recess l4.

Hinge leaf is of hinge mechanism B comprises an elongate roddike memberwhich is shown as being formed with an abutment shoulder :Z I and a,circumferential key-way 22 adjacent its outer extremities.

The base of. hinge leaf 19 is pivotally connected to leaf [8 by means ofhinge pin 23 which extends transversely of slot I 'l' and through leaf59. In this connection it is noted that slot H is of sufficient size toaccommodate and permit free and unobstructed movement of binge leaf i9rotatably about pin 23. Moreover, and as will hereinafter be explainedmore fully, similarly proportioned slots are also formed in thecushioning material and anchor plate in vertical registry with slot I!for permitting desired movement of hinge leaf is about its pivotal axis.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, and with particularreference to Fig. 2 of the drawings, the device is constructed so thatthe "total cushion supported area of the hinge leaf plate It located onone side of the hinge pin substantially equals the total cushionsupported area of the plate It located on the opposite side of the hingepin. More specifically, it is observed that the hinge pin 23 is disposedalong a chord line of the circular plate It extending at right angles tothe axis of slot ll and located somewhat rearwardly of the center lineof the circular plate. The arrangement is such, therefore, that thecushion supported area 26 of the plate located to the rearward side ofhinge pin 23 substantially equals the cushion supported areas 21 and 28of the plate located to the frontward side of the hinge pin 23. Thus,weight of the hinge supported mechanism, such as a sewing machine,transmitted through hinge leaf is via hinge pin 23, will be distributedevenly to the cushion material located on either side of the hinge pin.In this respect it is pointed out that if the rearward cushion supportedarea 26 was either substantially less or substantially greater than thecombined front cushion supported areas 2'! and 28 of plate it, theweight of the supported mechanism transmitted to the hinge pin wouldtend to tilt the plate one way or the other and cause uneven stress andcompressive forces to be transmitted to the cushion material. Such acondition, in turn, would decrease the efficiency of the cushionmaterial to absorb vibration from the supported sewing machine or othermechanism during operation thereof. I

The anchoring plate, heretofore designated generally at C, is preferablyadhesively mounted, as at 29, to the underside of the cushion in suchmanner that its opposite ends extend outwardly to either side of saidcushion. Screw or bolt holes, such as indicated at 3!, may be formedthrough the anchoring plate to permit the hinge mounting unit to berigidly aflixed to the underside of a sewing machine table or similarprimary support.

As hereinabove suggested, suitable slots, indicated at lid and lib areformed in both the cushion A and anchoring plate C. These slots are ofthe same size as, and are in registry with, slot ll formed in hingeplate it so as to permit free and unobstructed pivotal movement of hingeleaf it through at least 90 from a first position whereas said hingeleaf extends outwardly in a direction parallel to the plane of plate it(as shown in full lines in Fig. 1 and. in broken lines in Figs. 2 and4), downwardly to a second position whereat said hinge leaf i9 dependsperpendicular to the plane of plate l6 (as shown in full lines in Figs.2, 3, and 4) t is further noted that the total cushion supporting area32 of the anchoring plate located to the rearward side of the verticalplane of the hinge pin axis 23 substantially equals the comined or totalareas 33 and 34 of the cushion supporting areas of the anchoring platelocated to the frontward side of the vertical plane of the hinge pinaxis. The reason for this preferred n All) arrangement is, as aboveexplained, to prevent unequal stress or compressive forces beingimparted to the cushion supporting material through weight of the objectsupported.

Figs. 6 and T show a more or less conventional sewing machine table orstand 35 in which the sewing machine, indicated at 35, is adapted to behingedly supported within a conventional slot or opening 390. formed inthe table top in order that the machine may be swung from a down andout-of-the-way position below the table surface (such as shown in Fig.6) to an and ready-for-use position (such as shown in Fig. 7)

Fig. 8 discloses how a pair of the present hinge mountings may besecured to the wood table support 3% of a conventional sewing machinetable 36 by forming therein cut-outs, such as indicated at Bl, each ofwhich are proportioned to snugly receive the block. of cushioningmaterial A. The cushion may be inserted into the cutouts from theunderside of the table support and the device rigidly secured inposition by screwing or bolting anchoring plate C to the uncle'- side ofthe table support, such a in Fig. 3.

It is understood that the construction of the supporting stand or tableper se does not constitute a part of the present invention-suchconstructions being conventional and well known in the art.

It has become more or less standard practice to hingedly support sewingmachines to tables or stands of the type indicated at St, usually by twohinges secured to the base of the machine adjacent opposite endsthereof.

Many conventional sewing machines are provided with hinge receivingrecesses or wells, such as indicated at it, which are adapted to receiveand clamp, as by set screws indicated at 35, hinge leaves of the generalshape and size of leaf It. In this regard it is seen that abutmentshoulder 25 of hinge leaf is abuts against the end of recess 38, andkey-way 22 is adapted to receive and be securely engaged by set screw Asabove noted, it is an object and advantage of the invention to provide anovel resilient mounting capable of adaptation to, and utilization withrespect to, more-unless conventional sewing machines and relatedaccessories, such as conventional sewing machine tables and stands.

Although the present invention has been described in some detail by Wayof illustration and example for purposes of clarity of undestanding, 1tis understood that certain changes and modifications may be made withinthe spirit of the inventlon as limited only by the scope of the claimsappended hereto.

We claim:

1. A resilient hinge mounting comprising; a shock absorbent cushionformed of resilient material defining top, bottom, and side surfaces, afirst hinge leaf comprising a relatively flat plate mounted on saidcushion adjacent and parallel to the plane of the top surface of saidcushion, a sict formed in said first hinge leaf extending inwardly froma marginal edge thereof, a second hinge leaf pivotaliy connected to saidfirst hinge leaf within said slot by a hinge pin extending transverselyacross said slot, a slot formed through said cushion extending from thetop to bottom surfaces and inwardly from one side of said cushion inregistry with said slot in said first hinge leaf to accommodate pivotalmovement of said second hinge leaf from a first position disposedsubstantially parallel to the top surface of said cushion downwardly toa second position disposed substantially perpendicular to the topsurface of said cushion.

2. A resilient hinge mounting according to claim 1 and wherein ananchoring plate formed with a slot in registry with said registeringslots in said first hinge leaf and said cushion is mounted to saidcushion adjacent the bottom surface of said cushion.

3. A resilient hinge mounting according to claim 1 and wherein the totalcushion supported areas of the said finst hingeleaf plate located on oneside of said hinge pin approximately equals the total cushion supportedareas of said plate located on the other side of said hinge pin.

4. A resilient hinge mounting according to claim 1 and wherein ananchoring plate formed with a slot in registry with said registeringslots in said first hinge leaf and said cushion is mount- 66. to thebottom surface of said cushion for supporting said cushion, and whereinthe total cushion supporting areas of the anchoring plate located to oneside of the vertical plane of the hinge pin substantially equal thetotal cushion supporting areas of the anchoring plate located on theother side of the vertical plane of said hinge pin.

5. A resilient hinge mounting comprising; a shock absorbent cushionformed of resilient material defining top, bottom, and side surfaces; afirst hinge leaf comprising a relatively fiat plate mounted on andsupported by said cushion parallel to the plane of, and adjacent the topsurface of, said cushion; said hinge leaf formed with a first slotextending inwardly from a marginal edge of said first leaf; a secondhinge leaf connected pivotally to said first hinge leaf within said slotby a hinge pin extending transversely of said slot; a slot formed insaid cushion in registry with said slot in said first hinge leafproportioned to accommodate pivotal movement of said second hinge plateand extending from the top to bottom surfaces and inwardly from one sideof said cushion; said above recited slots defining an open passage forpivotal movement of said second hinge leaf through at least 90 from afirst position extending outwardly substantially parallel to the topsurface of said cushion downwardly through said slots to a secondposition disposed substantially perpedicular to the top surface of saidcushion.

6. A resilient hinge mounting according to claim 5 and wherein ananchoring plate disposed substantially parallel to said first hinge leafplate is secured to the bottom surfaces of said cushion;

and wherein a slot is formed in said anchoring plate in registry withsaid registering slots in said first hinge leaf and said cushion.

7. A resilient hinge mounting according to claim 5 and wherein the totalcushion-supported areas of the said first hinge leaf plate located onone side of said hinge pin approximately equal the totalcushion-supported areas of said plate located on the other side of saidhinge pin.

8. A resilient hinge mounting comprising; a shock absorbent cushionformed of resilient material defining top, bottom, and side surfaces; afirst hinge leaf comprising a relatively fiat plate mounted on andsupported by said cushion parallel to the plane of, and adjacent to thetop surface, of said cushion; a slot formed in said first hinge leafextending inwardly from a, marginal edge of said first leaf; a secondhinge leaf connected pivotally to said first hinge leaf in said slot bya hinge pin extending transversely of said slot; a slot formed in saidcushion in vertical registry with said slot in said first hinge leafproportioned to accommodate pivotal movement of said second hinge plateand extending from the top to bottom surfaces and inwardly from one sideof said cushion; an anchoring plate secured to and supporting the bottomsurface of said cushion and disposed in parallel relationship to saidfirst hinge leaf plate, a slot formed in said anchoring plate invertical registry with said registering slots in said first hinge leafand said cushion proportioned to accommodate pivotal movement of saidsecond hinge leaf; said three above recited slots defining an openpassage for pivotal movement of said second hinge leaf through at leastfrom a first position extending outwardly and parallel to the topsurface of said cushion downward through said slots to a second positiondisposed substantially perpendicular to the top surface of said cushion;the total cushion-supported areas of said first hinge leaf platedisposed on one side of said hinge pin being substantially equal to thetotal cushionsupported areas of said plate disposed on the other side ofsaid hinge pin.

9. A resilient hinge mounting according to claim 8 and wherein the totalcushion-supporting areas of the anchoring plate located to oneReferences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 119,665 St. John Oct. 3, 1871 2,050,469 Smith Aug. 11, 1936

